“In the world’s audience hall, the simple blade of grass sits on the same carpet with the sunbeams, and the stars of midnight” – Rabindranath Tagore (Indian Poet, Playwright and Essayist, Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, 1861-1941)

gSummer Solstice marks the end of the waxing year. And the rays of the sun directly strike one of the two tropical latitude lines. June 21 marks the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere, as winter begins in the southern hemisphere. On this day, the earth’s “circle of luminescence” will be from the Arctic Circle to the Antarctic Circle. The equator receives twelve hours of daylight, as there will be 24 hours of daylight at the North Pole and 24 hours of darkness at the South Pole.

gAll over the world people honor this day as an important reminder of the apex of light and to cast away evil and their problems. Northern Hemisphere inhabitants use June 21 as the day of celebration, but the splendor of light lasts from new moon to full moon.

Worshipping the Sun’s great power, all cultures celebrate in some way. Celts and Slavs dance around bonfires while Chinese marked the day honoring Li, the Goddess of Light. The celebrants of modern and ancient ceremonies tune in that life comes from the sun. It is life giving and life supporting. We’ve recently had the good fortune to have electricity, greenhouses, and shipment suppliers. How will you celebrate? We all may not get a chance to dance around the bonfire but it’s a time to bask in the light, sit in the sun, cast our worries away and awaken to our lives.

Remove the stems from the spinach and tear the leaves into bite-size pieces. Arrange them on individual salad plates or in a salad bowl. Arrange the strawberries on top. Drizzle the dressing over the strawberries and serve.

Bonnie Brae Strawberry Pie

A mixture of cooked and fresh berries helped make this pie a family favorite.

Two people represent Mother Earth and the Sun King. Create a Bonfire, dancers adorned in garlands and flowers, and young men jumping through the tall flames. A time of cleansing and renewal. The participants playing Mother Earth and the Sun King go to each participant, and speak to each person as though planting seeds of growth, imparting words of love, wisdom, thankfulness and prosperity.

Candle or Bonfire Ritual

With a candle or your bonfire – Give blessings in the 4 directions. Cast a blessing for yourself, a blessing for the harvest, a blessing for your loved ones, and a blessing for the earth. (make this blessing 3-5 sentences long for each subject) A Call to Love

Following Tara’s “under the stars” induction, you travel to a sacred stone circle in the middle of a meadow. Here, in the center of the circle, you meet a beautiful woman dressed in chiffon. As she chants, you experience an expanding vortex of power within: “Where light meets darkness … where the beginning encircles the end … where joy nullifies pain … we now choose to slip between the worlds beyond time, beyond space, and we invoke the positive powers of the Universe to assist us to manifest our desires.” Chakra balancing is followed with an inspiration ritual in which you open your heart and mind to the limitless positive potentials of life on earth. You withdraw an object from a box that relates to your purpose. Walking counter clockwise you recall a happy event from the past and transmit the vibrations into the present. A clock becomes a symbol placed in the circle to assist you make the most of your valuable time. Much more. 30 Minutes.